And Then There Were Nine

Rise in sea level could affect one in 10 people worldwide

If you currently live in Colorado, Nebraska, or South Dakota, you can stop reading this story now. But if you are one of the 634 million people worldwide living in a coastal zone, be advised: you may be in deep trouble. New research using population models and NASA satellite data estimates that one in 10 people in the world -- some 75 percent of them in Asia -- live in coastal regions that will be at risk of being affected by flooding and intense storms brought on by global warming. The low-lying coastal areas, defined as less than 33 feet above sea level, are found in more than 180 countries and include some 70 percent of the world's large cities, notably New York City, Tokyo, Mumbai, India, and Shanghai, China. On the fortuitous flip side of this news, a new Google mapping interface called Flood Maps allows users to get a jump on waterfront property speculation. So build that beach house now! In Ohio.